Wheelbarrow

Hi All.

I had a puncture in my w/barrow which I repaired but has gone down again so got to try again. Although only 4 years old I noticed the tyre is getting really split & cracked. A new tube & tyre only cost around £7 but wondering if anyone has gone over to the solid tyre? I did have a w/barrow years ago that had a skinny solid tyre but I did not like it. Just wondering if the larger solid tyre is any good?

Thank you

 

I allways would go for a tube and tyre, them solid ones don't work for me at all.
If you get a solid one make shore it's the same size as the tube and tyre, to thin and it will dig in when wet but can be good if the top soil is wet but hard under neaf, the big wide one can be hard to push when soil is wet but won't shink the soil builds up in front the wheel
You have to get the right size wheel for your condtions

 

OMG... Shiney ... Have you held up another lorry

 

And I thought I had a lot having 4! I agree with Jiffy. I inherited a solid wheeled barrow from my late father, absolutely hated it and made very hard work of pushing the barrow uphill.Maybe ok if you have a flat garden and don't need to push it on grass otherwise I'd stick to the inflatable ones. My favourite is the Haemmerlin green contractors barrow. Nothing whatsoever to do with those sold as garden barrows most of which I've found to be rubbish. I wouldn't say I'm an expert but having had horses for over 25 years and a huge garden that involves A LOT of barrowing! Found that there are massive differences in construction, ease of use and lifespan of barrows. The black Haemmerlin barrow is cheaper than the green contractors barrow but is smaller and slightly more difficult to push. Some barrows are absolute rubbish both in construction and design. Personally I'd steer well clear of plastic bodied ones unless you keep the barrow inside during the winter as they don't fair well in cold frosty weather and split if you throw heavy stuff (eg logs) into them. 1 of my Haemmerlin barrows must be nearly 20 years old, been completely used and abused yet is still going strong. They retail at about £55 I think these days. Not flat pack so you don't have to be a DIY genius to put it together and to my mind it's money well spent if you are going to use a barrow a great deal as I do.

 

The Ballbarrow , this was Dyson first product I think , 41 years ago , how time flies. he uses a similar ball principal on one of his vacuum cleaners.

 

Thanks for all your input. The tyre has gone down again so took it apart only to find another very small slit. We felt around the tyre in & out + used a magnifying glass but could not feel or see anything wrong with the tyre. Come to the conclusion that not only is the tyre past its best but also the tube may be perishing although it does visually look ok.

Will not get a solid wheel so after this post I will order a new tyre & tube off fleebay for around £7-8. No doubt it will only last around 4 years like the original but that is ok.


Talking about builder’s barrow, we were given an old rusty one which were grateful for as we did not have a barrow at all, but man was it heavy. We sometimes talk about the time we redesigned the garden and got a 6 yd skip all the soil we took off.

The barrow as you know is bigger than a gardener’s barrow and not too bad when filled with just garden waste. When we filled it up with soil that was a different matter we could hardly push it.

The worse was to come as it rained and all the mud got stuck on the wheel and we could not push it. One was pushing and one was pulling and trying to get it up the ramp of skip was a nightmare, mind you we were cracked up laughing so much. Plus on top of it all every time we stretched a string to make a straight line we looked around and the cat had chewed through it, no wonder everything is wonky, good times.

 

That must be the one I noticed on the open day.
It looked more like a mobile compost heap.

 

I had exactly this problem with my own wheelbarrow a good few years ago. The local tyre place provided both the reason and the answer. Apparently, the tyres that come with barrows are the cheapest possible, and have a tendency to split, puncture, and generally do everything they should not.

The answer in my case was to fit a tyre that is approved for road use. Expensive, but well worth it.